JP3044927B2 - Drop-type zero gravity test equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drop-type zero-gravity experiment apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a drop-type zero-gravity experiment apparatus has been used to simulate a zero-gravity state in a space environment on the ground and perform various experiments.

[0003] As a fall-type zero-gravity experimental device of this kind,
Conventionally, by keeping the inside of the falling tower in a vacuum over its entire length, by dropping the capsule body loaded with experimental equipment inside, the influence of external forces such as air drag is eliminated,
Some tried to obtain a highly accurate weightless state.

However, if the interior of the falling tower is maintained in a vacuum over its entire length as described above, if the falling distance is long, the equipment cost and the maintenance cost are enormous, while the so-called so-called "rotation" caused by the rotation of the earth is required. By Coriolis force,
It is known that the capsule body that has dropped is going to the east side.Although the capsule body is designed symmetrically, the actual capsule body has surface irregularities and a shift in the center of gravity, However, the longer the falling distance, the more unstable the posture and course of the capsule body, which may adversely affect the experimental device inside the capsule body, or in the worst case, the capsule body may come into contact with the inner wall of the falling tower. There was also.

Further, in the case of the above-mentioned device, no braking device or the like for deceleration and stopping is provided, and the capsule body which has been dropped is simply made to protrude into a tank filled with a cushion material such as polypropylene beads. Therefore, the impact becomes very large, and it is necessary to give the capsule body sufficient strength to withstand the impact, and to select a device to be mounted that is strong against the impact.

Further, when collecting the capsule body after the fall, the degree of vacuum inside the falling tower is reduced to almost the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the inside of the falling tower must be evacuated every time the experiment is performed. However, there are drawbacks in that it takes time and effort, and the cost increases.

In order to solve these disadvantages, a vertical guide rail extending in the vertical direction is laid in a shaft of a coal mine, and wheels and skids engaged with the guide rail are mounted outside the capsule body. , The inside of the capsule body can be held in a vacuum, and inside the capsule body,
A falling-type zero-gravity experiment device in which an inner capsule equipped with an experimental device is disposed so as to be able to fall was devised.

In the case of the drop-type zero-gravity experimental apparatus, only the inside of the capsule body needs to be kept in a vacuum, and the capsule body falls vertically along a guide rail in a stable posture. Can be decelerated and stopped by the braking device, and the impact can be greatly reduced.

[0009]

However, in the drop-type zero-gravity experiment apparatus in which wheels and skids engaged with the guide rails are mounted outside the capsule body as described above, the falling speed of the capsule body is extremely high. In addition, the wear of the wheels and skids and the like during dropping and braking becomes intense, so that it is necessary to frequently replace the wheels and skids and there is a problem in practical use.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a drop-type zero gravity capable of dropping a capsule body vertically along a guide rail while maintaining a non-contact state without providing wheels or skids. It is intended to provide an experimental device.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there are provided two guide rails of a paramagnetic material extending vertically and arranged so as to face each other in the north-south direction, a capsule body falling along the guide rails, Upper and lower two sets of main electromagnets attached to the upper and lower outer surfaces in the north-south direction of the capsule body so as to face the opposing surfaces of the guide rails, and the guide rails on the upper and lower outer surfaces in the north-south direction of the capsule body. Upper two sets and lower two sets of side electromagnets attached to sandwich from the direction, a magnet driver for supplying current to the main electromagnets of each set and the side electromagnets of each set, the main electromagnets and the side electromagnets, A gap sensor for detecting a gap with the guide rail, and an acceleration for detecting an acceleration in a facing direction for each of the main electromagnets and the side electromagnets of each set. A control current for maintaining a gap between each of the main electromagnets and the guide rail at a set value based on detection signals from the sensor and the gap sensor and the acceleration sensor, and outputting a control signal to a corresponding magnet driver; A control current for maintaining a gap between each of the side electromagnets and the guide rail at a set value or a value at which mutual interference does not occur at the upper and lower portions of the capsule body and does not come into contact with each other, and is controlled to a corresponding magnet driver. And a control device for outputting a signal.

[0012]

Accordingly, when the capsule body is dropped along the guide rail, the gap sensor detects the gap between each main electromagnet and each side electromagnet and the guide rail, and the acceleration sensor detects each set of main electromagnet and each set. The acceleration in the facing direction of each side electromagnet is detected, each detection signal is input to the control device, and when each detection signal is input to the control device, each main electromagnet and the guide are guided by the control device based on each detection signal. A control current for maintaining the gap with the rail at a set value is calculated, a control signal is output to a corresponding magnet driver, a desired current is supplied from each magnet driver to each main electromagnet,
The attraction force of each main electromagnet is adjusted to maintain the gap between each main electromagnet and the guide rail at the set value, and at the same time, the controller keeps the gap between each side electromagnet and the guide rail at the set value based on each detection signal. A control current is calculated, a control signal is output to the corresponding magnet driver, a desired current is supplied from each magnet driver to each side electromagnet, the attraction force of each side electromagnet is adjusted, and each side electromagnet is The gap with the rail is held at the set value, and here, unlike the main electromagnet, the side electromagnets are arranged in two sets on the upper side and two sets on the lower side,
If the upper and lower side electromagnets are to be controlled independently, in some cases, a force is generated that twists the capsule body 2 in opposite directions in the up and down positions about the axis extending in the up and down direction of the capsule body. In such a case, in such a case, the control device comprehensively evaluates each detection signal indicating the gap between each side electromagnet and the guide rail and the acceleration in the facing direction of each set of side electromagnets. A control current for maintaining the gap between each side electromagnet and the guide rail at a value that does not cause mutual interference at the upper and lower portions of the capsule body and does not contact each other is calculated, and a control signal is output to the corresponding magnet driver, A desired current is supplied from the magnet driver to each side electromagnet, and the attractive force of each side electromagnet is adjusted to The gap between the id electromagnet and the guide rail is maintained at an allowable value, and as a result, the capsule body has degrees of freedom in the east-west direction, degrees of freedom in the north-south direction, degrees of freedom in the direction of rotation about an axis extending in the east-west direction, and While maintaining a non-contact state along the guide rail in a controlled state, the degree of freedom in the direction of rotation about the axis extending in the direction and the degree of freedom in the direction of rotation about the axis extending in the vertical direction are controlled. It falls vertically in a stable posture.

Further, by arranging more side electromagnets than the main electromagnet for controlling the degree of freedom in the east-west direction in which the Coriolis force acts, the degree of freedom in the east-west direction is greater than the degree of freedom in the north-south direction. And effectively acts to maintain the posture of the capsule body against Coriolis force.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 5 show one embodiment of the present invention.
Are two guide rails made of a paramagnetic material such as iron, which extend in the up-down direction and are arranged to face in the north-south direction, 2 is a capsule body that falls along the guide rail 1, and the capsule body 2 is An inner capsule (not shown) on which an experimental device is mounted is provided so as to be able to hold the inside of the capsule body 2 in a vacuum and fall inside the capsule body 2.

A main electromagnet 3 is provided on the upper and lower outer surfaces of the capsule body 2 in the north-south direction, with the opposing surface 1a
A total of eight upper and lower two sets are mounted on the upper and lower outer surfaces in the north-south direction of the capsule body 2 so as to sandwich the guide rail 1 from the east and west directions. Attach.

The main electromagnet 3 is formed by winding a coil 6 around an iron core 5 formed of a member having a U-shaped cross section extending in the vertical direction. The side electromagnet 4 also has a cross section extending in the vertical direction. A coil 8 is wound around an iron core 7 made of a letter-shaped member. The main electromagnet 3
The reason why the cores 5 and 7 of the side electromagnets 4 are U-shaped members extending in the vertical direction is to reduce magnetic drag (magnetic resistance).

Magnet drivers 9 and 10 for supplying currents 23 and 24 are connected to the main electromagnets 3 and the side electromagnets 4 in each set, and the main electromagnets 3 and 4 are connected to the main electromagnets 3 and 4.
And gap sensors 11 and 12 for detecting a gap between each side electromagnet 4 and the guide rail 1, and an acceleration sensor for detecting an acceleration in a facing direction for each of the main electromagnets 3 and the side electromagnets 4 of each set. 13 and 14 are provided.

Further, based on the detection signals 15 and 16 from the gap sensor 11 and the acceleration sensor 13, a control current for maintaining the gap between each of the main electromagnets 3 and the guide rail 1 at a set value is calculated and correspondingly performed. A control device 18 for outputting a control signal 17 to the magnet driver 9 is provided, and the gap sensor 12 and the acceleration sensor 14 are provided.
Control current for maintaining the gaps between the side electromagnets 4 and the guide rails 1 at a set value or a value at which no mutual interference occurs at the upper and lower portions of the capsule body 2 based on the detection signals 19 and 20 from And outputs a control signal 21 to the corresponding magnet driver 10.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

While keeping the inside of the capsule body 2 in a vacuum, the inner capsule (not shown) is dropped and
When the capsule body 2 is dropped along the guide rail 1, gaps between the main electromagnet 3 and the side electromagnets 4 and the guide rail 1 are detected by the gap sensors 11 and 12, and the respective gaps between the guide rails 1 are detected by the acceleration sensors 13 and 14. Of the main electromagnet 3 and each set of side electromagnets 4 in the facing direction are detected, the detection signals 15 and 16 are sent to the control device 18, and the detection signals 19 and 20 are sent to the control device 22.
Are input respectively.

When each of the detection signals 15 and 16 is input to the control device 18, the control device 1
At 8, a control current for maintaining the gap between each main electromagnet 3 and the guide rail 1 at a set value is calculated, a control signal 17 is output to the corresponding magnet driver 9, and each magnet driver 9 sends the control signal 17 to each main electromagnet 3. A desired current 23 is supplied, the attraction force of each main electromagnet 3 is adjusted, and the gap between each main electromagnet 3 and the guide rail 1 is maintained at a set value. Note that not only the detection signal 15 from the gap sensor 11 but also the detection signal 16 from the acceleration sensor 13
Is used when the gap between one of the pair of main electromagnets 3 and the guide rail 1 is moving in a narrowing direction, and the control is performed according to the magnitude of the acceleration at that time. This is because the rate at which the current is increased is changed so that the gap between each main electromagnet 3 and the guide rail 1 can be maintained at a set value with higher accuracy.

At the same time, when each of the detection signals 19 and 20 is input to the control device 22, each of the side electromagnets 4 and the guide rail 1 in the control device 22 based on the detection signals 19 and 20.
A control current for maintaining the gap between the magnet driver 10 and the set value is calculated, a control signal 21 is output to the corresponding magnet driver 10, a desired current 24 is supplied from each magnet driver 10 to each side electromagnet 4, The attraction force of the electromagnet 4 is adjusted so that each side electromagnet 4 and the guide rail 1 are adjusted.
Is kept at the set value. Here, unlike the main electromagnet 3, the side electromagnets 4 are arranged in two sets on the upper side and two sets on the lower side. Therefore, if the side electromagnets 4 in the upper and lower sets are to be controlled independently, in some cases, the capsules may be capsuled. Although a force that twists the capsule body 2 in opposite directions at the up and down positions about the axis extending in the up and down direction of the body 2 is generated, so-called mutual interference may occur.
In the case of this embodiment, in such a case, the detection signals 19 and 20 are comprehensively evaluated by the control device 22, and the interference between the side electromagnets 4 and the guide rails 1 occurs in the upper and lower portions of the capsule body 2. The control current for keeping the value without touching and not touching is calculated, and the control signal 21 is output to the corresponding magnet driver 10,
A desired current 24 is supplied from each magnet driver 10 to each side electromagnet 4, the attraction force of each side electromagnet 4 is adjusted, and the gap between each side electromagnet 4 and the guide rail 1 is maintained at an allowable value. The reason that the detection signal 20 from the acceleration sensor 14 as well as the detection signal 19 from the gap sensor 12 is used is that the gap between one of the pair of side electromagnets 4 and the guide rail 1 is different. When moving in the narrowing direction, the rate of increase of the control current is changed in accordance with the magnitude of the acceleration at that time, and the gap between each side electromagnet 4 and the guide rail 1 is set more precisely or the capsule body. This is because the upper and lower parts can be maintained at a value that does not cause mutual interference and does not touch.

As a result, the capsule body 2 has a degree of freedom in the east-west direction, a degree in the north-south direction, a degree of freedom in the direction of rotation about an axis extending in the east-west direction, and a degree of freedom in the direction of rotation about the axis extending in the north-south direction. The robot falls vertically in a stable posture along the guide rail 1 while controlling five degrees of freedom, that is, the degree of freedom and the degree of freedom in the direction of rotation about an axis extending in the vertical direction. .

Further, by providing more side electromagnets 4 than the main electromagnet 3 for restricting the degree of freedom in the east-west direction in which the Coriolis force acts, the degree of freedom in the east-west direction is smaller than that in the north-south direction. It can also be made large, and effectively acts to maintain the posture of the capsule body 2 against Coriolis force.

When the capsule body 2 that has fallen vertically reaches a braking tank (not shown), the capsule body 2 is decelerated by an air damper using the same principle as when a piston is pushed into a cylinder, and then stopped by a mechanical brake.

Thus, it is possible to drop the capsule body 2 vertically along the guide rail 1 in a stable posture while maintaining the non-contact state without providing wheels, skids, and the like.

It should be noted that the falling-type zero-gravity experiment apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the main electromagnet and the side electromagnet are not separately provided but are integrated. It is also possible, and if there is a slight error based on the manufacturing error and installation error for each cross-sectional shape or interval of the two guide rails,
Since the gap between each main electromagnet and each side electromagnet and the guide rail cannot be maintained at a predetermined set value, in such a case, the direction of the facing direction in the control device based on the detection signal from each gap sensor is determined. Other than calculating the sum of the two gap values and halving the sum may be used as the set value, etc.
It goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0029]

As described above, according to the drop-type zero-gravity test apparatus of the present invention, the capsule body can be stably moved along the guide rail without providing a wheel, skid, or the like while maintaining a non-contact state. An excellent effect of being able to drop vertically in a posture can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrows II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a part III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Guide rail 1a Opposing surface 2 Capsule main body 3 Main electromagnet 4 Side electromagnet 9 Magnet driver 10 Magnet driver 11 Gap sensor 12 Gap sensor 13 Acceleration sensor 14 Acceleration sensor 15 Detection signal 16 Detection signal 17 Control signal 18 Control device 19 Detection signal 20 Detection Signal 21 Control signal 22 Controller 23 Current 24 Current

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shinobu Saito 3-1-1-15 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo Ishikawa-jima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Tojin Technical Center (72) Inventor Shinji Tauchi Mizuho-cho, Nishitama-gun, Tokyo 229, Kagaya, Mizuho Plant, Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, Ltd. (56) References JP-A-4-345600 (JP, A) JP-A-4-238800 (JP, A) JP-A-4-91000 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B64G 7/00 G01M 19/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. Two guide rails of a paramagnetic material extending vertically and opposed to each other in a north-south direction, a capsule body falling along the guide rails, and an outer part in a north-south direction of the capsule body. Upper and lower two sets of main electromagnets attached to the upper and lower side surfaces so as to face the opposing surfaces of the guide rails, and the upper and lower outer side surfaces of the capsule body in the north-south direction which are mounted so as to sandwich the guide rails from east and west. Two lower electromagnets, two main electromagnets and a magnet driver for supplying current to the respective side electromagnets, and a gap between the main electromagnets and the respective side electromagnets and the guide rail are detected. A gap sensor, an acceleration sensor for detecting an acceleration in a facing direction for each set of the main electromagnet and each set of side electromagnets, and the gap sensor. A control current for maintaining a gap between each of the main electromagnets and the guide rail at a set value based on detection signals from the sensor and the acceleration sensor, and outputting a control signal to a corresponding magnet driver; Control to calculate the control current for maintaining the gap between the guide rail and the set value or a value that does not cause mutual interference in the upper and lower portions of the capsule body and that does not make contact, and outputs a control signal to the corresponding magnet driver A drop-type zero-gravity experiment device comprising: